Thursday, December 13, 2012

The Best Email Marketing Practices

By Celia Hall


Businesses must continue to embrace the changing technology if they are to survive in the ever so competitive environment. The use of internet to advertise products and services is not a new thing. It has undergone several changes within the last few years most of which have revolutionized the way of doing business. The best email marketing experts are always up-to-date as far as these changes are concerned and adapt accordingly so as to remain in business.

To continue using this method of communication successfully, there are a number of things that one needs to do. One of these things is to prepare an emailing list. This list contains the contacts of persons who have agreed to receive mails from the sender. Such emails are referred to as opt-in or permission-based. The other type comprising of mails that are sent out without permission are popularly referred to as spam.

Double opt-in emails are an effective way of getting large numbers of prospective clients. When the customer signs up through a website, blog, social media page or anywhere else on the internet, they get a conformational mail that requires them to take some action. They are usually required to click on a certain link that is an automatic subscription to the list

Before sending out the message, one should ensure that the subject is brief and to the point. The recommended length of a subject line is 50 characters including the spaces. It has to be interesting enough to catch the attention of the client even when their inbox is almost full. The content should also be concise. Very long mails are a boring read and many clients may not have time to go through them.

The time at which the mail sent is another important consideration. It will, in most cases, determine whether the mail will be read or not. Studies have shown that most business meetings are held on Mondays and very few people are likely to have time for mail then. Even if they had such time, priority would be given to work-related messages. Messages sent on Fridays are usually ignored to be dealt with the following week. The ideal days are Tuesday to Thursday.

The frequency at which mails are sent out should be carefully balanced. If sent too far apart, customers may be lost and if too frequent some clients may get annoyed. Generally, bi-weekly and monthly schedules are associated with good results. Clients are different and so are businesses. Each will be comfortable with different frequencies. A sign up form is a useful tool of determining the exact frequency.

It is important to segment lists so that each group of customers is served optimally. Specific campaigns can be designed to target specific groups of customers as per the segments. To successfully achieve this segmentation, one can send out brief surveys that enquire from the customers about the changes they would like to see as regards their communication with the business.

The style of writing should help the writer to connect with the writer at a personal level. There should be a human component that preferably gives the experience of the writer on the use of the service or product. The best email marketing practices ensure that a customer is treated as a human and not merely as a client.




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